The process and dimensions of family member marginalization: A mixed-method construct explication

This dissertation builds upon social psychology, organizational studies (i.e., social identity theory, social network theory), family studies, and interpersonal communication (i.e., hurt, confirmation theory) literature to understand how marginalized family members, or black sheep, come to live at the edge of their families. In some societies, marginalized family members are called black sheep because they stand out from the rest of the group. Being marginalized refers to feeling different, not included, or not approved of by family. Two studies were conducted to uncover and test the dimensions of family marginalization and explore the process of marginalization in families. Study 1 consisted of interviews with marginalized family members (N = 30) between the ages of 25-35 who had felt marginalized by family for at least one year during the past 10 years. Study 1 utilized the retrospective interviewing technique to conduct a turning point analysis and grounded theory to analyze in depth interview data. Study 2 was designed to extend and compliment Study 1 by replicating some of Study 1\u27s research findings and exploring the construct of marginalization with a larger, more diverse sample of marginalized family members (N = 315). An online survey version of the retrospective interviewing technique collected turning point data. The two investigations described here identified three dimensions of marginalization: difference, disapproval, and exclusion. Cluster analysis revealed that participant scores on the three dimensions can be grouped into three types of marginalized people: highly marginalized, moderately marginalized, and similar yet marginalized. Study 1\u27s turning point analysis categorized events into 22 categories and identified 5 trajectories that represented the process of family marginalization: turbulent, inclining, disrupted, declining, and prolonged. Study 2\u27s turning point analysis refined the turning point codebook from Study 1 and coded events into 9 overarching categories. Study 2\u27s results replicated three of the trajectories identified in Study 1 (i.e., inclining, declining, disrupted) and identified 1 additional trajectory (i.e., stable-high). Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed including avenues for future research (e.g., creating a family member marginalization scale and identifying strategies for managing marginalization)

The Role of Emotional Overcontrol in the Acceptance of Counselor Training Feedback

Feedback is an essential component of counselor training, making it crucial that students receive and utilize this information effectively. This research was conducted to address the problem of counseling students experiencing difficulty with accepting feedback during the training process. Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy and the concept of emotional overcontrol were used as a lens for exploring the possible correlation between measures of overcontrol and difficulty with accepting feedback within counselor training programs. This research contributed to the literature—much of which has focused on the behaviors of instructors and supervisors in the feedback process—by providing support for the perspective that student traits affect the efficacy of feedback interactions. The research questions were 1) What is the relationship between counseling student emotional control and accepting feedback within the classroom setting? and 2) What is the relationship between counseling student emotional control and accepting feedback within the supervisory relationship? A quantitative design was used, consisting of a survey tool administered to master’s level counseling students. Analysis consisted of correlation and regression analyses, with additional qualitative coding used for three open-ended prompts. Results indicated that measures of overcontrol correlated significantly with features associated with feedback receptivity within the classroom setting. Results indicated that individuals who scored higher on measures of overcontrol were more likely to experience feedback as threatening, more likely to desire privacy in the feedback process, may retain feedback less effectively, and in some cases, may believe feedback is less useful than their non-overcontrolled peers. No significant correlations were found between measures of overcontrol and feedback in the supervisory setting. In the regression analysis, approximately 34% of the variance in sensitivity to feedback within the classroom setting was explained by measures of overcontrol, indicating that this individual student trait is relevant to the efficacy of feedback interactions. Qualitative data suggested that the element of personal relationship was also a relevant variable for determining the degree to which students accepted feedback from instructors and supervisors. Implications for counselor training programs are discussed, including the recommendation that emotional overcontrol be considered when working with students who struggle with training feedback

The Role of Emotional Overcontrol in the Acceptance of Counselor Training Feedback

Feedback is an essential component of counselor training, making it crucial that students receive and utilize this information effectively. This research was conducted to address the problem of counseling students experiencing difficulty with accepting feedback during the training process. Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy and the concept of emotional overcontrol were used as a lens for exploring the possible correlation between measures of overcontrol and difficulty with accepting feedback within counselor training programs. This research contributed to the literature—much of which has focused on the behaviors of instructors and supervisors in the feedback process—by providing support for the perspective that student traits affect the efficacy of feedback interactions. The research questions were 1) What is the relationship between counseling student emotional control and accepting feedback within the classroom setting? and 2) What is the relationship between counseling student emotional control and accepting feedback within the supervisory relationship? A quantitative design was used, consisting of a survey tool administered to master’s level counseling students. Analysis consisted of correlation and regression analyses, with additional qualitative coding used for three open-ended prompts. Results indicated that measures of overcontrol correlated significantly with features associated with feedback receptivity within the classroom setting. Results indicated that individuals who scored higher on measures of overcontrol were more likely to experience feedback as threatening, more likely to desire privacy in the feedback process, may retain feedback less effectively, and in some cases, may believe feedback is less useful than their non-overcontrolled peers. No significant correlations were found between measures of overcontrol and feedback in the supervisory setting. In the regression analysis, approximately 34% of the variance in sensitivity to feedback within the classroom setting was explained by measures of overcontrol, indicating that this individual student trait is relevant to the efficacy of feedback interactions. Qualitative data suggested that the element of personal relationship was also a relevant variable for determining the degree to which students accepted feedback from instructors and supervisors. Implications for counselor training programs are discussed, including the recommendation that emotional overcontrol be considered when working with students who struggle with training feedback

Communicated perspective-taking intervention : a social pathway to stress management

Dr. Haley Horstman, Dissertation Advisor.includes vitaStress is a ubiquitous phenomenon, but left unaddressed can become a health risk. There is an opportunity for interpersonal communication researchers to develop interventions to help individuals manage stress and thus improve their health. The present dissertation tests the effects of a communicated perspective-taking (CPT) intervention on relational, mental, and physical health. CPT is the process of verbally and nonverbally expressing that one is "walking in another person's shoes." The experimental design employed in the current study randomly assigned participants to either tell or listen to a story about a difficult experience. The listener was randomly presented with instructions to display either a high or a low level of CPT. Results of the study provided support for the effectiveness of the intervention to change the presence of CPT in the interaction. Additional support was demonstrated for the relationship between CPT and psychological and social health. Finally, the present study provides initial evidence for a positive relationship between CPT and physical health, as measured by heart rate and heart rate variability. Specifically, listeners in the high-CPT condition had a significant sympathetic response at the start of the interaction and a significant parasympathetic response during the recovery period, compared to the low-CPT condition. First, engaging in an initial interaction with a person sharing a recent stressful event is stressful for a listener. Second, a listener who enacts a high level of CPT will have a significant stress recovery from the interaction, compared to listeners who enact a low level of CPT. This study advances CPT theorizing by being the first known study to identify a link with physical health. Furthermore, the evidence presents a CPT intervention design that can cause significant improvements in a person's relational, mental, and physical health. In short, a listener who expresses messages that indicate to a recipient that his/her perspective is actively being attended to and confirmed will experience positive health outcomes. Theoretical implications for these findings lie in their potential to advance communicated sensemaking theorizing into physical health outcomes. Practical implications exist in the potential for creating and implementing CPT interventions designed to improve individuals' and couples' relational, mental, and physical health.Dr. Haley Horstman, Dissertation Advisor.|Includes vita.Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-102)

GENDER SCHEMAS AFTER SEXUAL VIOLENCE: WHAT ARE THE PERCEIVED ROLES AND EXPECTATIONS FOR CISGENDER WOMEN?

The current study aims to look at the cultural and gender values prevalent in the US that contribute to sexual violence. With such a high occurrence of sexual violence, the qualitative study explores the ways in which worldviews and gender stereotypes may perpetuate sexual assault and rape. Although there is considerable literature on gender role socialization and the prevalence of sexual violence, there is noticeably a gap of qualitative research focusing on the implications of sexual violence on gender schemas. In an effort to understand gender schemas after sexual violence, the present study explored the experiences of 15 cisgender women who experienced sexual violence as an adult. A qualitative grounded theory design employed individual initial interviews, follow-up interviews, and feedback interviews. Through grounded theory analysis procedures, a conceptual model emerged to expand the literature pertaining to gender schemas after sexual violence among cisgender women. The core category is Gender as Operating Principle. The women in this study anticipated the consequences of their gender roles by integrating the remaining conceptual categories in their internalized experience of sexual violence. The ways in which they conceptualized the complexities of power included (a) Performing Gender; (b) Internalized Responsibility; (c) Normalization of Sexual Violence; (d) Reconciling the Self; (e) Consistency of Gender Roles; (f) Looking at the Way Context Impacts Women. I utilize participants’ words as illustrative examples of the conceptual model. The conceptual model may be used to inform counseling psychologists about the individual and societal impact of sexual violence

Father-Son Family Communication Patterns and Gender Ideologies: A Modeling and Compensation Analysis

The purpose of this study was to advance father-son research by investigating family communication and gender ideologies. Specifically, the study assessed the specific messages fathers transmit to sons regarding gender ideologies, relationships between family communication patterns and gender ideologies, and the utility of modeling and compensation hypotheses in intergenerational transmission of these behaviors and ideologies. Finally, this study addressed the association between gender ideologies and global life satisfaction. Fathers (N = 125) completed an online questionnaire to report their living fathers\u27 and their own communication patterns and gender ideologies, as well as their transmission of gender ideologies to their sons. Results revealed a relationship between family communication patterns and gender ideologies within the younger generation of fathers and sons, sons\u27 modeling of fathers\u27 conformity orientations, and no relationship between gender ideologies and global life satisfaction. Overall, the results support the link between communication patterns and gender ideologies and offer several avenues for future exploration

An Analysis Of Trauma Narratives Perceptions Of Children On The Experience Of Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is estimated to affect 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys before the age of 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). Despite the prevalence of sexual abuse and frequent negative outcomes for child victims as well as adult survivors, little is known about CSA from the perspective of the child. To date, the vast majority of research has targeted adults. Studies conducted on children are mostly quantitative and have explored the effectiveness of various treatment interventions. To address the gap in the research literature, the present study investigated the perspectives of children on sexual abuse through thematic analysis of trauma narratives, which were written by children as a therapeutic intervention and described life prior to, during, and following sexual abuse. Analysis of 21 trauma narratives selected through purposive sampling revealed one metatheme, which was titled Fear and Safety. Children\u27s descriptions of past and current fears as well as concerns about their safety and the safety of others were evident throughout all sections of the narratives. Three themes also emerged from the analysis: (1) Memories of the Abuse, (2) The Disclosure and Subsequent Events, and (3) The Healing Journey. The first theme, Memories of the Abuse, included three subthemes: descriptions of the sexual abuse, details about the perpetrators, and children\u27s thoughts and feelings about the abuse. The second theme, The Disclosure and Subsequent Events, included three subthemes: perceptions of the abuse disclosure, experiences during the investigation, and experiences with the justice system. The third theme, The Healing Journey, also resulted in three subthemes: experiences in counseling, how life had changed, and future hopes and dreams. The themes are discussed, and ramifications for prevention efforts, treatment of child victims of sexual abuse, and counselor preparation are iv explored. Additionally, implications of the present study for counselors and community members are delineated. Finally, recommendations are made for future research with child victims of sexual abuse

‘In the same boat, helping each other’: a grounded theory of growth and emancipation in peer-led hearing voices groups

In this project, I present a grounded theory of how peer-led Hearing Voices Network Groups (HVNGs) impact people who attend them. By conducting intensive interviews and attending groups as an observer, I developed a theory of the outcomes and processes of change that people experience in peer-led HVNGs. I used member-checking (Charmaz, 2014) to make sure my analysis was consistent with the experience of people who took part. Through this considered and thorough process of conversation and collaboration with people who hear voices, I have developed a theory grounded in the knowledge and insight of people’s lived-experience of HVNGs. HVNGs provide support that is fundamental to the well-being of people who attend them. Therefore research in this area has the potential to impact people’s lives by contributing not only to the growing evidence base regarding the benefit of HVNGs, but also by understanding how this benefit is achieved. Based on my analysis, I have theorised that the impact of hearing voices groups includes fundamental shifts in i) how voices and the voice-hearing experience are understood, ii) the sense of agency in their lives, and iii) an enhanced sense of valuing oneself and others, developed through sharing mutual support (the experience of ‘being in the same boat, helping each other’). In order to understand the impact of hearing voices groups, I also consider the voice-hearing experience (Blackman, 2001) as a whole. Based on my data, I conceptualise this as a holistic experience that includes perceptual/sensory, social and meaning-making/agentic factors. I consider the stigma, loss of agency and confusion of meaning that can attend negative voice-hearing experiences in relation to trauma research, as well as other approaches. The contribution of this research to the field of counselling psychology and psychological therapies is the creation of a theory of what voice-hearers value and experience in peer-led HVNGs. This research represents the first attempt at a full theory construction of this topic using an accepted methodology. Theory creation in this area is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, since hearing voices groups represent an increasingly popular approach both within NHS Trusts and other settings, it is increasingly necessary to understand the processes and mechanisms of change in these groups. Secondly, without basing theory construction on the actual experiences of people who hear voices, research in this area is susceptible to misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Finally, insight into the experience of hearing voices and how peer-led hearing voices groups address this experience can inform work in the wider field of hearing-voices research

Conflict Management

Many students reading the book will have previously taken Communication Psychology and will have read the companion OER, Psychology, Communication and the Canadian Workplace. If you did not take: Communication Psychology, you may find it helpful to look at this resource for a general introduction to many of the topics that we will be discussing in this book. The course learning objectives for this course are as follows: 1. Identify factors that contribute to conflict in the workplace. 2. Name factors that lead to positive professional identity and productive group dynamics. 3. Describe different conflict styles. 4. Discuss their own interpersonal competencies and areas in need of improvement regarding conflict management in the workplace. 5. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of conflict management styles and strategies. 6. Analyze hypothetical/case study conflict scenarios for the workplace. 7. Implement strategies to manage/resolve conflict in the workplace. 8. Analyze workplace conflict prevention and management policies. These learning objectives were formed in consultation with local employers and stakeholders in London, ON. Employers indicated that it was desirable for graduates entering the workforce to have more explicit training in conflict management. While employees do not usually need to be trained negotiators or legal experts, it is helpful for students to have the skills and knowledge to navigate both the mundane occurrences of conflict in the workplace (e.g., the coworker with a difficult personality) and more serious incidences of conflict at work (e.g., bullying, harassment, and violence). We will learn a bit about federal and provincial legislation, organizational policies and the formal conflict process. However, the focus will be on the individual, and how each one of us can play a role in making the workplace a safe and functional environment. Throughout the book, you will be encouraged to engage in critical self-assessment and case studies. These exercises will provide you with the opportunity to assess potential conflict situations, recognize your emotions, communicate assertively, and manage conflict with integrity and professionalis